Hey everyone! We want to keep you all in the loop and share what’s happening because you're a huge part of this journey!
 

First, a huge thank you to everyone playing Legend of Ares! Since launch, over 1,700 accounts have been created, with an average of 100 players online at any given time and around 300 weekly active players. Collectively, you've spent 82,379 hours conquering the world of Ares, and it's been incredible to watch!

What has our team, with your help, accomplished since launch?

• 635 issues resolved (new items / bug reports)
• Fixed those severe random AI freezes that plagued release
• Improved anti-cheat measures and took action against offenders
• Developed a brand new Unique Item Resurrection system
• Rolled out a massive upgrade to DirectX 9, making the game far more stable for everyone

What’s next?

• Re-releasing Hershal Cave once we solve the AI issues and make a few adjustments
• Halloween event!
• A bunch of bug fixes (reports are slowing down, which means we’re catching up!)
• Vendor skins
• Introducing a new "Hire a Merchant" system (some might refer to this as: Offline Vendors)
• Expanding the Growth Packs that you all love so much for levels above 100
• Further balancing across classes, maps, and more
• A bigger marketing push to grow the community
• Building quite a few new Internal Tools for smoother updates and improvements

What have we learned, and how are we addressing it?

• Support overload: Each player's issue was unique, and it became clear we needed help to keep up. We brought on Opaque to handle support, and he’ll also oversee game testing both at the Bug Report level and Quality Assurance level.
• Uncovered issues post-launch: The increased player count (5x more than in beta/alpha!) surfaced issues we hadn't caught earlier. We’re now focusing on more load testing and client stability improvements.
• Balancing challenges: Class and monster balancing have been tricky, despite the huge effort from [GM]Glitch. The challenge came from a lack of proper tools. We're prioritizing building better tools to give our team the data they need in minutes, instead of days of manual testing.
• Team burnout: Our team has been pushing hard for over a month, and while we’ve made great strides, it's not sustainable. To keep the game healthy, we’re moving to a bi-weekly maintenance schedule and ensuring the team gets some much-needed rest.

Finally, we want to thank you for "returning home" to Legend of Ares. Your support means the world to us, and we’re committed to keeping the LoA legacy alive and growing!


Sincerely,
[GM]Cole